By Melissa McLaughlin
Heard any words that cut to the depths of your heart? Stood by quietly as others excluded, ignored or overlooked you? Betrayed, belittled, burdened with the harshness of the world?
Let Jesus love you.
We were made to be loved. Yes, we desire to be known and loved by those around us, but we have a deeper ache and longing in our soul that can only be filled by the One who formed our frame, Christ the Lord.
Let Jesus love you.
When we seek to fill our deepest longing with anything less than Jesus, we are left craving more. More love, more appreciation, more affirmation, more respect, more kindness, more understanding, more, more, more.
Let Jesus love you.
It was some time ago that Jesus’ last few words in this passage rang out clearly to me.
Mark 12: 28b-31 – He asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
We certainly understand the command to love God most. This is the first and greatest command.
However, let’s take a closer look at the second command. “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
When we love our neighbor, what does that look like? Some of us are very skilled at “loving our neighbor” and dive in full force making meals, sending texts, reaching out, spending time, money and affection on others.
But what about ourselves?
May we not skip over the power of those last two little words of Jesus’ statement.
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
“As yourself.”
For those who find it easy to love others, let us reflect on this truth, Jesus is including love for self, in keeping with love for others.
How easily we miss these simple words. Love God first. Then love others, as yourself.
What does “love ourselves” mean from a Christian viewpoint?
Soul-care is different from self-care.
We were created by God, fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. We are precious in His sight and have intrinsic value because our lives are a sacred gift from the Creator of all things.
For those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord, we are being changed little by little into the image of Christ. Talk about precious!
Self-Care
Self-care is important for Christians, as God has invited us to be stewards over all He has made, including ourselves. Self-care involves eating healthy foods, getting regular exercise and adequate sleep. It means working toward a balanced schedule of work and rest, productivity and leisure, to bring out the best in all God has given us.
Soul-Care
Soul-care however, is another matter altogether. We were designed to be in a relationship with God, loving God and letting God love us!
Soul-care is taking the time to love Jesus and letting Jesus love you.
Soul-care begins by pausing to remember.
Remember who made you. You are lovingly made by God.
Remember the God who painted the fiery sunset, who layered the petals on the silken rose, who flung the shining stars in the heavens is the same God who tenderly, purposely, skillfully made YOU!
Remember this same God sent His own Son, Jesus Christ, to die for your sins so that you could be together with Him in heaven forever. The Hands that reached down to form your flesh are the Hands that reached out to take the nails. All for love.
Remember how much Jesus loves you! The King of all creation wore a crown of thorns. The Champion of heaven carried the weight of our sins and the weight of the cross for us. The One who made the trees hung on a tree for you and me. No one loves you more.
Remember your God. Then remember who you are in God. Remember what God has done to love you. This is our deepest need, our innermost longing, our great heart-cry. You are loved by God. Let Jesus love you.
An immeasurable God paid an immeasurable price to spend immeasurable time with us. ~Alistair Begg
Let Jesus love you and love Him in return. How? Remember this:
Psalm 139:14 – I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Genesis 1:27 – So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Jeremiah 1:5a – Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.
1 John 3:16a – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us.
Additional Resources:
His Are the Hands – Poem By Melissa McLaughlin
From Clay to Heaven – Be Amazed By Your God! By Melissa McLaughlin
What Does it Mean to Love Your Neighbor As Yourself By Crosswalk.com
Beautiful Melissa, amen! God bless!
Thank you for the kind words, Ryan! What a wonderful Savior! What a loving God! May you sense the unending love of Jesus today!
Such a good word in today’s harsh world! Love the post! <3
It’s true, Valerie. This weary world can be cold and heartless. May we renew our minds and spirits in the truth of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, for He is our beginning and our end and fills our hearts with his love every moment in between!
Yes, yes, and yes!
I need this message today. Thank you.
Oh Melissa, may Jesus renew, refresh and restore our battered souls, for He is lovely and He loves us so! I thank God that He allowed me to write something that was a blessing to you. God bless you!
Beautiful! Our relationship with God is what transforms our lives. Knowing to whom we belong is our touchstone for life. It is our deepest longing because nothing else can fill that void. Once our hearts are set on Christ, then anything is possible. Our souls expand to love ourselves and others because the God of love has taken residence within us. You have captured the essence here of what we should all be striving for and the passages illuminate our calling. Love is, and always will be…even in eternity, our answer back to ‘The One who first loved us’. (1 John 4:19)
Dear Linda, thank you for these beautiful insights! I love how you expressed the depths of love that we share in Christ. What a wonder to take in! Knowing to Whom we belong changes everything, truly a touchstone like no other. May we answer back with all the love in our hearts, to the One who first loved us!
Another lovely blog for me to wake up to . You know something Melissa? The more I read your blogs, the more I know about Jesus…and the more I know, the more I WANT to know. I’m beginning to look upon you as a kind of a teacher because I learn something new each time I read your lovely blogs. Thank you my dear sister
And you have left an encouraging word for me to wake up to, Jimmy! God bless you, dear brother. May this be our daily prayer, Jesus we know and love you, but we WANT to know and love you more! I praise God again for using my words to draw people closer to Him. May we experience the love of Jesus us anew today!
I love this post! We need to care for ourselves. We need to let God take care of us.
Thank you, Nancy! Glory to God! It is easy to run roughshod over ourselves with all our doing. May we rest in our being, being held in the Hands of Christ!
In days of busy schedules and non-stop activities, your encouragement to let Jesus love me, is such a refreshing and welcome reminder. Thanks, Missy.
Bruce, thank you for stopping by to read and share your feedback. You always send a welcome word of refreshment to me! May we keep pointing one another back to Jesus, our lifeline, our source and strength, the Lover of our souls. God bless you, brother!
Such good words, Melissa! This post was great encouragement to day – your posts always are. Focusing in on Jesus, who is he, what he has done, how he has loved us, is the best soul care there is. Thank you for this message!
That is a simple but deep truth, Melinda.”Focusing in on Jesus, who he is, what he has done, how he has loved us, is the best soul care there is.”
May our minds turn back to Jesus again and again this day, that we may be filled with the fullness of Christ! Oh, how He loves us!
Melissa, thank for the reminder of this simple, yet often downplayed truth: Let Jesus love you. When we do that and really pause to remember who Jesus is and who we are in Him, then we will know how to love ourselves and truly love our neighbor.
God bless you, Karen! You are right, we can only really loves ourselves and love our neighbors if we have first been filled with the love of Christ. May we pause and let Jesus love us again today! And may that deep, abiding, sacrificial love fill us to overflowing and splash out in blessings on others!
Thank you, Melissa, for another beautiful lesson from the kingdom of our Lord, helping us to remember who we are and whose we are, and all to His glory. Blessings.
Thank you for reading and for offering a word of encouragement to me, dear Frances! Sometimes we get so busy with doing, that we forget to simple be and remember who our God is, what He has done and who we are in Him. What a beautiful Savior! May you be refreshed in His love again this day!
Praise Him for keeping us near and drawing us closer in His will and timing. Yes! A beautiful and gracious Savior He is!
I love how you explained the self-care and soul-care. This world looks at self-love and uses it as an idol. But self- and soul-care from a Godly perspective is remembering Whose we are! Thanks for sharing this wisdom with us!
Thank you for the kind words, Emily! Glory to God! We hear so much about self-care and certainly that is important, for God created us and loves us. However, soul-care goes much, much deeper and gets at our deep eternal needs to know God, to be loved by God and to love Him in return. That Jesus died for us, broken and sinful as we are, is a miracle to be received anew each day. May we receive that love and pour it back to Him!
Such beautiful words, Melissa, and so in line with what Jesus has been speaking to me. To let Him love me in all of my weaknesses, to let Him carry me when I have no strength, and to let Him call me Beloved right in the midst of the trial are sure precious gifts! I was not able to read your post this week until today. God’s timing, once again, is just amazing. Thank you for listening to His leading.
Dear Bettie, how amazing the way our God weaves together His message of hope through His Word, His Son, His Spirit and His people. It really is something to grab hold of the idea of Jesus loving me in the midst of all my weaknesses, losses and sorrows and as you say, to hear Him call me “Beloved.” May Jesus continue to whisper His gentle love into your heart, wherever you may be. Blessings, dear sister!
This reminds me of the saying “You can’t pour from an empty cup”. Some people seem to have the mentality of helping others to the point of neglecting their health and sanity. We need to spend time enjoying and basking in God’s love so that we can use our relationship to help others who may need our example.
Robin, thank you for reading and sharing your insights! That image – trying to pour from an empty cup, is so powerful. May we pause and be refreshed in the Living Water of Christ, that we have something to share that will quench the thirsty souls around us. Bless you!
Very nice.
Hello R.D., I pray you are able to pause and let Jesus love you today! Oh how He loves us!
Love you, Dad!
In His name we are Held in every situation we face in Life, by the Father WHO Love us before we were born Amen Mama.
On 19 Sep 2019 22:04, “Melissa McLaughlin ~ Truthful Grace” wrote:
> Melissa McLaughlin posted: “By Melissa McLaughlin Heard any words that cut > to the depths of your heart? Stood by quietly as others excluded, ignored > or overlooked you? Betrayed, belittled, burdened with the harshness of the > world? Let Jesus love you. We were made to be loved. Yes” >
Dear Siyabonga Ronny, your words are so true and give great comfort. May we remember how our Heavenly Father loves us and holds us, from before we were born. God bless you!
This really touched my heart tonight as I read it knowing it was just in time. God has really been dealing with me about his love and having self control over my vessel
Dear Lisa, I understand completely. It is so hard when we fall short of God’s calling. I know this all too well myself. May we rest in His mercy and love to strengthen us, in order to get back up and begin again. Hopefully walking a little closer to Him this time. I also know that this process of recognizing my sinful nature, confessing to God and receiving His forgiveness and love helps me grow in humility. That in itself is a gift from God. I’m lifting you in prayer right now. May the peace of God guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
We praise you Lord for Your extraordinary love toward us! Help us so obey Your Word more and more. <3
Amen! Dear Melissa, I’m joining you in this powerful prayer. Oh how He loves us. Jesus, help us love you and obey your Word with more devotion, love and passion day by day!
I love this a lot â¤ï¸â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ It’s very inspiring and nice ☘ï¸. It would be a great honor to have you check out my blog 🙇
Thank you, Vincent. May Jesus, our precious Savior, be praised! I am grateful and honored that you visited. Yes, I will check out your blog as soon as I am able to. God bless you!
Thank you. In some ways I care for myself but I often fail to accept that God sees me anew in the righteousness of Christ
I understand completely, Tom. When we really pause and consider the depths of love God has shown us through His Son, it is truly hard to take in. And then to think, He see us through the righteousness of Christ. Blessings upon blessings. May you sense Jesus’ deep love for you afresh today.